Anthony Crowley ‘Tombstones’ Review

Written by: Tim Meyer

Let me start by saying I’m not a huge fan of poetry. However, I appreciate poetry and have an overwhelming amount of respect for those who write poetry. Sadly, I never really got into this particular art form. So with that in mind, you can probably imagine my skepticism when it came to reviewing Anthony Crowley’s Tombstones. Well, from the first stanza, my skepticism faded and pure enjoyment took hold.

This particular collection of dark poems are, well… extremely dark. Like lights out, dark. So dark and twisted I awoke this morning with a hangover of sorts; dreams of dark entities, foul beasts, sad clowns, bleeding skies, and visions of Gothic cemeteries attacking my first waking thoughts. Although I’m no poetry expert, the quality of these poems came as quite a shock. They contain plenty of literary value, which I think will please poetry buffs and non-poetry folk alike.

A few gems in this collection include, “Carved in stone”, “Different World”, and “Fragile”, although every poem has at least one line of dark literary bliss. With multiple themes and a variety of terrifying topics (everything including vampires, werewolves, apocalyptic worlds, demons, angels, and sinister children), Tombstones is sure to satisfy any horror fan.

Again, this is coming from someone who doesn’t read a lot of poetry, but this collection took me by surprise. I recommend reading this next to a kindling campfire, maybe aloud to some of your closest horror-loving pals. The words will seep into your dreams, infecting your sleep like a terrible plague (which I’m almost sure was the author’s intent). Be advised—there’s some very dark stuff within these pages. It’s extremely short—only taking about an hour to read—but damn, the lyrical writing stuck with me a lot longer.

Order it here.

Rating: 5/5

 

Tim Meyer lives near the Jersey Shore (but don’t hold that against him). He is the author of ‘In the House of Mirrors’ and several other horror novels. His new zombie novel ‘Less Than Human’ is now available on Amazon.